You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, Join Nissan Juke : Juke Forums today!

Do you all haul messy stuff, or do you even use a mat/blanket for regular stuff (boxes, luggage, Costco items, etc)? Since I don't haul garden supplies or anything like that I haven't found the need...I'm just careful with what I put in there and how I place it.

My requirements might be a little different than others so let me explain. I’m a skier and I bought my Juke expressly for my one day trips from Portland to Mt Hood. In the winter I generally only go when the weather is BAD with lots of snow and difficult driving conditions. I have found the Juke to be an excellent vehicle for this sort weather, maybe even better than my wife’s XC70. But when I go skiing on these days, my ski clothing is WET from snow and shear perspiration and putting it in an unprotected interior is not a good idea and the amount of my “stuff” exceeds the are of the rear cargo compartment.

My original thought was to get a mat that covered both the rear cargo area and the extra area that is available when the rear seat is down. I started down this path and found out that Lloyds Mats can do custom rubber mats but they want you to order through Mike’s Customs. Mike's Custom Car Care Products eBay Store About My Store

However, having a rear mat that large could be a real pain removing and installing it. In the summer, (I ski between 6000 and 8500 feet on the Palmer Snow field at Timberline well into August Summer Ski & Ride | Timberline Lodge ), my stuff is not wet and I would prefer to put the rear seat up. So, why not have a mat set up so I could easily raise and lower the back seat without having to remove a gargantuan full size mat. My thinking was that I could cut the full size mat and so that there would be a part for the rear seat and a part for the cargo area. I’d have to cut the rear seat section in two so I can raise either seat and ideally that part would stay fixed to the rear seat back so I could raise the seat with the mat attached. There will likely be cases where I change my mind and want to lower the seat and have the rubber mat surface, so having the mat attached to the back of the seat is attractive. After seeing a pic on the Juke site with the user manual holder clinging to the carpet on the back of the rear seat, I thought that I could use Velcro on the mats to hold the mat on the back of the seat when it was raised. The carpet is a really good mate for the Velcro “hooks” side.

In summary, it all worked out sort of… and when I get some more cash and time, I may revise what I have done but I thought that I would share my experiences with others.

Making Custom Mats

After talking to one of the mat suppliers on the web, they gave me the number of Lloyds mats about getting custom mat done. Lloyds said they could not take my order directly and referred me to Mikes, (above link). Mike had Lloyds send me their custom “kit” which was several sheets of paper with directions in a mailing tube. The idea is that you cut the paper to the size that you want by laying it on the floor and Lloyds would cut your mat to that size. I had to tape these sheets together to get something big enough. Here is a pic of what that looked like.

After I got the cut mat back, I was not all that satisfied with the fit. My guess is that the paper form was sloppy enough that errors crept in. If I had to do this again, I would try to use something with more consistency like a heavy Mylar sheet or something similar. Still what I had was usable.

Note that I purposely picked a tan color to reduce the amount of black (heat absorbing and dirt showing) in what I call the “black hole of the Juke interior. I made my best guess where to cut the mat into 3 sections. Cargo, and left/right seat back. At this point, I started thinking about how to secure the Velcro to the seat back mat. (I considered mat securing hooks and buttons but I would prefer to keep the surface clean so I can remove the mats and load something that needs a softer surface. No need for Velcro on the cargo space mat.) I tried several approaches, including sticky back and non sticky Velcro that needs to be secured with glue or stitching. I don’t have access to an industrial strength sewing machine so I focused on sticky back and glue.

Mike had told me that he had good luck with sticky back Velcro after heating the mat. In addition, I clipped off the “nubs” that protruded from the mat to keep it in place, used sand paper to rough up the surface and alcohol to clean off any grease or oil. I didn’t do anything more scientific than a hand pull test but the 3M sticky back Velcros (industrial strength and the two commercial grade versions) came off pretty easily. Test strips with household Goop and Pliobond 25-LV did very well and the sticky back Velcro that I got from the Mill End store did just about as well. NONE of the Guerrilla products adhered to the mat. I decided to just go with that sticky back Velcro to make things simple and then keep the strips short to avoid having any problems.

After installing the Velcro, I kept the strips under pressure with clamps for 24 hours before installing more.

As you can see from the picture, I put a LOT of Velcro on, since I was concerned about the mat slowly separating from the seat back when in the up position. However, positioning the mat with that much Velcro is challenge. Obviously fit around the edge of the seat is important but since I wanted the mat to be able to rise with the seat with minimal effort, the fit along the bottom of the seat mat is important. I found setting the mat back from the cargo floor about a half an inch allowed me to raise the seat with me having to push down on the bottom of the mat a little bit.

I also had to put Velcro on the flap that otherwise would get hung up on foam tire ring.

There is obviously a gap where the seat mat meets the cargo mat (lower left corner of above picture) as well as between the seats. If I pushed up the cargo mat I can minimize the gap between the cargo section and the seat section. Then, the mat section for the cargo area was too short and had gaps at the rear. The thing that is tricky is that the length of mat that is required is more if you plan to fold the seats up. If I were to do this again, I would cut separate sections from the start. Also, in places the Velcro sticks better to the back of the seat than to mat so maybe one of the glue options would be somewhat better. I don’t plan on moving the mat around much so maybe I can live with what I have.

On other issue is the “smell” of the Lloyd mats. When new they smelled like my wife’s hair coloring product. (Loreal). Washing them with alcohol helped and leaving them sit in the sun for a few days helped, but the smell (while tolerable NOW) still overwhelms my 3000 mile new car smell. I had purchased Weathercraft front mats that had NO smell. (I’m NOT happy with them because the driver side mat does not extend under the pedals or on the raised part on the left where I put my feet so that carpet in those areas is dirty. Apparently many of the mat manufacturers have become worried about mats interfering with the pedals and shortened them.) I am considering doing Lloyd “custom mats” for the front but I want to see what my back mats smell like in the summer.

Next Steps

I’ll probably cut a new mat for the cargo area (I’m not sure if the factory mat will be long enough) or I could play with adding clear plastic backing to the seat mats to cover the gaps or just live with that I have. At this point, I want to live with what I have before I do anything else. I've been focusing on the gas mileage issue with the Juke and I have some ideas about how to measure consumption under different conditions. I also plan to put a ski box on the top, improve the interior lighting and do some sound proofing.

Hopefully this “tome” will be helpful to anyone else who wants to embark on anything this ambitious.

This question was asked about 6 months ago and I took it upon myself to email my good friend Steve over at Husky Liners.. I forward this same question to Steve and according to him. Husky wasn't going to produce a "Full Coverage" cargo liner. However, he also told me that If anyone wanted a full, extended liner, he would gladly include a liner blank.. Nothing more then an extra section of the cargo bay liner which can be used when the seats are folded down. If this is an option for you, send Steve an email asking for the extra liner sample.

The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.

AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.